Kobo Desktop User Guide

Table of Contents
About Kobo Desktop..................................................5
About Kobo Desktop..............................................................................5

Downloading and installing Kobo Desktop...............7

Getting Kobo Desktop............................................................................7
Installing Kobo Desktop for Windows....................................................8
Installing Kobo Desktop for Mac............................................................9

Buying eBooks with Kobo Desktop..........................10

Buying a book.......................................................................................10

Using your library in Kobo Desktop.........................11

Changing your Library view.................................................................11
Sorting your Library..............................................................................12

Reading on Kobo Desktop........................................13

Turning pages and using the Table of Contents in Kobo Desktop........13
Adjusting font size, page margins, and page colour.............................14
Zooming and Panning...........................................................................15

Highlighting text......................................................17
Highlighting text...................................................................................17
Viewing highlighted text.......................................................................18
Removing highlights.............................................................................18

Adding, editing, and viewing notes.........................19

Adding notes to your book in Kobo Desktop.......................................19
Editing notes in your book in Kobo Desktop........................................20
Viewing notes in your book in Kobo Desktop......................................20

Using the dictionary.................................................21

Using the dictionary..............................................................................21
Translating a word.................................................................................22

Using Kobo Desktop with a Kobo eReader.............23

Syncing your eReader...........................................................................23
Managing books on your eReader and Kobo Library...........................24

Removing a book.....................................................26
Removing a book from your Kobo Library or eReader........................26

Troubleshooting Kobo Desktop..............................28

Troubleshooting Kobo Desktop............................................................28

Uninstalling Kobo Desktop for Windows.............................................29

Uninstalling Kobo Desktop for Mac.....................................................29

Changing Kobo accounts.........................................30

Signing out and signing in....................................................................30

Getting Help.............................................................31
Visiting our help site.............................................................................31

About Kobo Desktop

What's in this section

About Kobo Desktop

About Kobo Desktop

Kobo Desktop is a free application for your computer that
lets you:

Buy books: Kobo Desktop lets you browse for books

in the Kobo Bookstore right on your computer. You'll
find recommended books, top new releases, Kobo
Staff picks, and more.

Manage books on your Kobo eReader: Kobo

Desktop lets you manage your Kobo books on your
eReader. For example, you may have over fifty
eBooks that you've purchased from Kobo, and only
want select books stored on your eReader. Kobo
Desktop lets you easily choose which books you
want saved on your Kobo eReader.

Read Kobo books on your computer: You can

access all your Kobo eBooks on your computer using
Kobo Desktop. Kobo Desktop lets you customize

font size, font style, and even add notes while you
read.

Downloading and installing Kobo Desktop

What's in this section

Getting Kobo Desktop

Installing Kobo Desktop for Windows

Installing Kobo Desktop for Mac

Getting Kobo Desktop

Downloading and installing Kobo Desktop takes a few
minutes. Once you've installed Kobo Desktop, you can buy
eBooks, set up your eReader, and more.
Kobo Desktop is available on Windows and Mac. You can
download Kobo Desktop by going to kobo.com/desktop on
your computer's web browser.
Note: Kobo Desktop does not support the Kobo Original.
The Kobo Original has a blue directional pad.

Installing Kobo Desktop for Windows

Your computer must have the following to install Kobo
Desktop:

Pentium 4 or higher

512 MB RAM

200 MB hard drive space (plus extra for books)

1024x768 display

1. Go to kobosetup.com.
2. Click DOWNLOAD FOR PC.
3. Save the file somewhere you will remember (for
example, to your Windows Desktop).
4. Once the download is complete, find the
downloaded file.
5. Double-click the saved file.
6. Follow the onscreen instructions.

Installing Kobo Desktop for Mac

Your computer must have the following to install Kobo
Desktop:

OSX 10.7.7 or later

Intel Core Duo

512 MB RAM

200 MB hard drive space (plus extra for books)

1024x768 display

1. Go to kobosetup.com.
2. Click DOWNLOAD FOR MAC.
3. The file should download to your Macintosh Desktop
or your Downloads folder.
4. Double-click the file that you have downloaded.
5. A new icon with a similar name will appear and a
Finder window may open automatically.
6. If Finder doesn't open, double-click the new icon.
7. Copy or drag the new icon (the one that appeared
when you opened the .dmg) to your Applications
directory.

Buying eBooks with Kobo Desktop

What's in this section

Buying a book

Buying a book
You can use Kobo Desktop to buy eBooks from the Kobo
Bookstore. When you buy a book, it's automatically added
to your Kobo Library.
To browse the Kobo Bookstore, just click Bookstore at the
top of the screen. Once you've found the book you'd like to
read, click the book cover and follow the onscreen
instructions to purchase the book.
Note: You'll need a valid credit card to make a purchase.
Once you've completed the purchase, sync your eReader to
add the new book to your eReader. Your newly purchased
book will also appear in Kobo Desktop when you click
Library at top of the screen. If you don't see your new
purchase, click the

sync icon at the top of the screen.

Using your library in Kobo Desktop

What's in this section

Changing your Library view

Sorting your Library

Changing your Library view

Kobo Desktop lets you customize how you'd like your books
to appear in your Library.
You can see books in your library in two ways:

Cover View: Shows all the books in your library as

series of book covers.

Column View: Shows your book covers, title, and

author name.

To change your Library view:

1. Click Library at the top of the screen.
2. Click the
Column View or
Cover view icon at
the top-right corner of the screen.

Sorting your Library

If you have a lot of books, you might find that sorting your
books by title, author, file size, or most recently added
helpful.
You can sort your Library with different options:

All: See your entire Kobo book collection.

Reading: Show only the books that you're currently

reading.

Unread: Show only the books that you haven't

opened.

Finished: Show only the books that you've

completed.

Recent: Show the most recently added books first.

Title: Sort the books alphabetically.

Author: Sort the books alphabetically by the author's

last name.

File size: Show the books with the largest file size
first.

1. Click Library at the top of the screen.

2. Click the drop-down lists beside the Search Library
field at the top-right corner of the screen and choose
how you'd like to sort.

Reading on Kobo Desktop

What's in this section

Turning pages and using the Table of Contents in

Kobo Desktop

Adjusting font size, page margins, and page colour

Zooming and Panning

Turning pages and using the Table of Contents

in Kobo Desktop
Get around your book by turning one page at a time, using
the page scrubber, or table of contents.
1. Double-click a book to open it.
2. Browse the page or view the table of contents:

Click the arrows on the sides of the page to turn

pages (or use the left and right arrow keys on
your keyboard).

slider at the bottom of the page to

Drag the
skip forward or back in the book.

Click the
Table of Contents icon at the top of
the screen to see the Table of Contents. Jump to
the chapter by clicking it in the list.

Adjusting font size, page margins, and page

colour
You can change the appearance of your book from the
Settings menu. Note that you can't change the appearance
of the page when reading some books like comics and
graphic novels.
1. Click the
Settings icon at the top-left corner of
the window.
2. Adjust how your page looks:

Drag the slider under Text Size to make the text

smaller or bigger.

Select a font from the Text Style list.

Use the Alignment options to make the text in

your book line up on the left, or both the left and
the right (justified).

Drag the slider under Margins to change the

amount of space on the sides of the page.

Change the background colour and colour of the

text by selecting an option from the Theme list.

3. When you're done, click the X at the top of the

settings window to save your preferences.

Zooming and Panning

Some contentlike comic books and graphic novelslets
you zoom in and pan around the page while you read.
There are a few ways to zoom and pan around the page.
Zooming in and out

Drag the slider on the top-right corner of the screen

to zoom in or out of the page.

Hold the Command key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows)

and scroll up and down on your mouse to zoom in or
out.

Double-click an area that you'd like to zoom in to.

Panning
Note: You'll need to be zoomed in before you can pan
around the page.

Click and drag anywhere on the page to move

around.

Drag the rectangle in the navigation window at the

top-left corner of the screen. If you don't see the
navigation window, click and drag anywhere on the
page to make the navigation window appear.

Highlighting text
What's in this section

Highlighting text

Viewing highlighted text

Removing highlights

Highlighting text
You can highlight text in most books from the Kobo
Bookstore. Once you've highlighted text, you can view all
your highlights in a list.
Note: Some eBooks do not support highlighting.
1. While reading, click and drag to select the text that
you'd like to highlight.
A menu will appear.
2. Click Highlight.

Viewing highlighted text

You can see all the highlights you've made in your book as a
list.
1. While reading, click the
Annotations icon at the
top of the screen.
A list of your highlights will appear on the left.
2. Click on a highlight that you'd like to see.

Removing highlights
You can delete any highlights that you no longer want.
1. While reading, click the
Annotations icon at the
top of the screen.
A list of highlights will appear.
2. Right-click on the highlight that you'd like to delete.
3. Click Delete Annotation.

Adding, editing, and viewing notes

What's in this section

Adding notes to your book in Kobo Desktop

Editing notes in your book in Kobo Desktop

Viewing notes in your book in Kobo Desktop

Adding notes to your book in Kobo Desktop

You can use Kobo Desktop to add notes to your book.
To add a note, first you need to highlight a word, sentence,
or passage in your book.
1. While youre reading, right-click a word from the
passage where you would like to make a note.
2. Select Add Note.
3. Type your note.
4. Click Save.

Editing notes in your book in Kobo Desktop

You can use Kobo Desktop to edit notes in your book.
To edit a note, first you need to highlight a word, sentence,
or passage in your book.
1. Right-click the highlighted text that contains your
note.
2. Click Edit Note.
3. Edit your note and click Save.
Note: You can also delete your note from the same menu.

Viewing notes in your book in Kobo Desktop

You can use Kobo Desktop to view notes in your book.
1. While youre reading, click the Annotations icon at
the top left of the screen.
The Annotations menu will appear, and your
annotations will be listed. You can click an annotation
in your Annotations menu to go to that page,
double-click to edit, or right-click to delete.

Using the dictionary

What's in this section

Using the dictionary

Translating a word

Using the dictionary

Kobo Desktop has a built-in dictionary that you can use
while reading Kobo eBooks.
Note: The dictionary may not work if you're reading PDFs or
books from other sources such as a public library.
1. While reading, select the word you want to look up.
A menu will appear.
2. Click Definition.
After your definition appears, you can look up the definition
on Google or Wikipedia. Click the Google or Wikipedia icon
to start your search.

Translating a word
Kobo Desktop has a built-in translation feature that lets you
translate words while you read.
Note: The translation feature does not work while reading
PDFs.
1. While reading, select the word that you'd like to
translate.
A menu will appear.
2. Click Translate.
3. Click the translation drop-down menu and choose
the languages that you'd like to translate between.

Using Kobo Desktop with a Kobo eReader

What's in this section

Syncing your eReader

Managing books on your eReader and Kobo Library

Syncing your eReader

If you have a Kobo eReader, you can use Kobo Desktop to
add and remove books on your eReader.
Its important to sync regularly to get recent software or
app updates, download newly purchased books to your
Kobo Library, and to update your books with bookmarks or
annotations you made while reading on another device. If
you buy a book on kobo.com, you'll need to sync before
you'll see the book in your Kobo Library.
Note: You'll need access to an Internet connection before
you can sync your eReader.
1. Connect your eReader to your computer using the
USB cable provided.
2. Tap Connect on your eReader.

3. Open Kobo Desktop on your computer.

4. Click eReader at the top of the screen.
5. Click Sync at the top of the screen.
6. Click the
eject icon at the top of the screen when
you're done.

Managing books on your eReader and Kobo

Library
Kobo Desktop lets you add and remove books from your
eReader and Kobo Library.
When you remove a book from your eReader or Kobo
Library, you can always add the book back later.
All the books you purchase from Kobo are stored in the
Kobo Cloud, an online storage area with unlimited space.
You can choose which books you want to download from
the Kobo Cloud to your device. When you finish a book, you
can remove it from your device to increase storage space.
You can re-download a book from the Kobo Cloud any time
you have access to Wi Fi.
1. Connect your eReader to your computer using the
USB cable provided.

2. Start Kobo Desktop.

3. Click Library at the top of the screen.
4. Choose the books that you want to manage on your
eReader:
a. Right-click on the book cover.
b. Select an option:

Add to eReader: Adds the book to your Kobo

eReader.

Remove from eReader: Removes the book from

your eReader. Your book will still be available for
download in the Kobo Cloud.

Delete from Library: Deletes the book from the

Kobo Cloud and your eReader. If you delete a book
from the Kobo Cloud, you'll no longer see the book
in the Kobo Cloud or your eReader.

Removing a book
What's in this section

Removing a book from your Kobo Library or eReader

Removing a book from your Kobo Library or

eReader
You can remove books from Kobo Desktop to free up
space.
When you remove a book from Kobo Desktop, the book will
also be removed from your Kobo eReader.
All of your books are safely stored in the Kobo Cloud so
that you can retrieve the books later, even if you've
removed them from your Library.
To learn about recovering deleted books, go to kobo.com
and visit the My Account page. You'll be able to add books
from your purchase history back into your Library.
1. Launch Kobo Desktop on your computer.
2. Connect your eReader to your computer.
3. Sign in to your account.
4. Click Library.

5. Right-click the book you want to remove or delete.

6. Click Remove from eReader or Delete from Library.
7. Click Yes to confirm youd like to remove or delete
the book.

Troubleshooting Kobo Desktop

What's in this section

Troubleshooting Kobo Desktop

Uninstalling Kobo Desktop for Windows

Uninstalling Kobo Desktop for Mac

Troubleshooting Kobo Desktop

If you're having trouble with Kobo Desktop, try restarting
your computer or reinstalling Kobo Desktop.
Try these troubleshooting steps if you're having problems
with Kobo Desktop:

Close Kobo Desktop, and then launch it again.

Restart your computer, and run Kobo Desktop again.

If those steps don't work, try reinstalling Kobo Desktop:

1. Uninstall Kobo Desktop.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Download and install Kobo Desktop.
4. Start Kobo Desktop.

Kobo Desktop is compatible with:

Mac OSX 10.7.7 or later

Windows Vista or later

Uninstalling Kobo Desktop for Windows

Follow these steps to uninstall Kobo Desktop for Windows.
1. From the Windows Start menu, click Control Panel.
2. Click Add/Remove Programs or Uninstall a
Program (depending on your version of Windows).
3. Click Kobo from the list of installed applications.
4. Click Uninstall/Change.
5. Click Uninstall.
6. Click Close.

Uninstalling Kobo Desktop for Mac

Follow these steps to uninstall Kobo Desktop for Mac.
1. Open your Applications folder in Finder.
2. Right-click on the Kobo icon and click Move to
Trash.

Changing Kobo accounts

What's in this section

Signing out and signing in

Signing out and signing in

If you have more than one person using Kobo Desktop on
your computer, you may need to sign out of your current
account and sign in to a new one.
To change Kobo accounts, you'll need to sign out and sign
back in.
1. Sign out of your Kobo account:
a. Click the
screen.

Account icon at the top of the

b. Click Sign Out.

c. Click Yes to sign out.
2. Sign in to your account:
a. Click

Sign In at the top of the screen.

b. Enter your Kobo credentials to sign in.

Getting Help
What's in this section

Visiting our help site

Visiting our help site

Have questions or need help? Visit kobo.com/help.